Earlier this week Fearghus commented that I tend to avoid spice in my cooking. I totally agree. I grew up in Ohio and then in Montana. Not exactly spice capitals in the US. My Father is very definitely anti-spice. So I never adventured into spicy cooking. I -have- gotten spicier since I moved to California.. but not to the levels he’d like to see. He was raised in Mississippi and craves Jumbaliya and spicy chilli.

I took this as a challenge. When I couldn’t think of anything for dinner on Monday night I grepped the Intarwebz for “Spicy Health Dinner”. The first result was an African Peanut Stew. I’m not that adventurous. The next result was “Bal’s No-Butter Chicken”. Reading over the recipe it looked like an Indian dish with chicken. I figured there was no better place to start.

The final word on the issue:
Tikka Masala: Uses garum masala (spice mix); created in U.K.
Makhani: cream, tomatoes, butter
Shahi: (my fave) cream, butter, nuts (blended, no chunks)
Korma: Usually yogurt (sometimes cream) or coconut milk and nuts/seeds (usually with chunks) — no butter

Further research suggests that this would be the “no-butter” version of “Butter Chicken” a classic in India. It seems that Chicken Tikka Masala is a close approximation. Chicken Tikka Masala was invented in the UK and very closely mimics Butter Chicken.. only with no butter.. and more spices. So.. Ok, I’m going to call this Chicken Tikka Masala. Whatever you call it, it was GOOD. Like really good.. like “OMG make it again” good.

It took about 30 minutes to prep everything (chopping veggies, measuring spices, etc) and about 30 minutes start to finish to cook it. I served this with Brown rice and a quick pickled cucumber salad.

Fearghus declared this dish a keeper.

I prepared the dish according to the recipe giving on the Cooking Channel site. I didn’t have cumin seeds so I used ground cumin. After I’d finished cooking the dish I went back to the Cooking Channel site and watched a video excerpt of Bal cooking this dish. Her cooking in the video is slightly different from the recipe given on the site. My recipe below is what I plan to follow in the future.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Original from The Spice Goddess on The Cooking Channel “My Daughter’s Favorites”
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 small red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt

1 pound chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cut into cubes
1/4 cup low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup water

Start brown rice cooking (it takes ~45 minutes so start it during your vegetable prep so it will be ready when the chicken dish is done).

Add the oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it starts to get hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for 4 minutes, or until the onion is golden.

Add the tomato paste, brown sugar, ground cumin, garam masala, red chile flakes, turmeric, and salt and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the chicken cubes and stir well to coat. Cook for 7-8 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Add the yogurt and water and cook, stirring until the sauce is hot, about 3 minutes.

Serve the chicken with rice.

Quick Pickled Cucumber Salad

Original from: Teri’s Kitchen

1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
4 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 small onions, thinly sliced

Mix sugar, salt, vinegar, water in a bowl. Slice cucumbers and onions. Pour vinegar mix over cucumbers. You may need to double/triple the vinegar mix to cover the cucumber/onions.

As you use up the cucumbers/onions, add more to the vinegar.

Salad keeps for ~3 weeks in the fridge. If they last that long. The vinegar pickle can be reused quite a few times.